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The Slums
The Slums The Slums 'is the common term for the Southeast. A huge number of people live here. People are poorer here than in the Southwest. There are four boroughs (regions) within the Slums. Each has a ruler, and over the centuries those rulers have all become indebted to the ruler of Capital City. They pay him an annual tax and submit to his laws. Isily's Keep ''Isily House has ruled this borough for generations. The Keep sits on the mainland (where Astratonia was). A great bridge leads across the inlet to the castle (where the Ruins were). In times of war the bridge can be destroyed to protect the Keep or castle. '''Isily City The Isily Family has made some undesirable connexions in the past few centuries. Their armies are comprised mostly of dark creatures -- drow, vampires, demons, warlocks, everyone who's unwelcome elsewhere. Consequently a city has sprung up around the foot of the castle. It's populated with dangerous folk. All are roughly loyal to the Isily family -- at least until a better offer comes along -- and few would hesitate to kill an unwary trespasser. Southard Southard is a watery, marshy borough. A network of channels forms a "highway" through the borough. Many Southard residents are accomplished swimmers and boat handlers, able to smuggle in goods from the coastline without being caught. This is a poor district. The water table is often polluted and the local aquifer produces non-potable water (must be boiled thoroughly before drinking). Mosquitos and disease breed readily in this area. The borough sometimes falls under quarantine, when nobody can enter or leave, to keep plagues from spreading through the entire Slums. In spring the borough floods, with whole segments washing away or getting soaked. Rebuilding is arduous. Many Southard residents are itinerant, living in tent structures or on bedrolls, or in boats if they have them, instead of in permanent buildings. Southard has a large vagrant youth population: a bunch of gangs of young people without parents, food, or anything productive to do. The Goodtiders are the most well-known Southard gang. They were brought to heel by the Silver Fox just lately, but their leader the Hood remains at large. Rafter Town A collection of floating houses has been permanently set up in the north, deep within a grove of maryon trees. The houses are all ramshackle, barely hanging together. Traveling fenfolk are welcome to swing by for a trade or a drink, or even to set anchor for a while and have some companionship. But outsiders aren't welcome. Rafterfolk brew their own hard ale from maryon sap. They call it sirret. It's sharp, fierce, bitter, and will knock you on your ass -- as will the Rafterfolk themselves. The Clamber Also called the "Midden," meaning trash heap. There are few adults in the Clamber. It's mostly kids who lost their parents and needed a place to go. "Clamber" is local slang for junk jimmied into something useful. The Clamber is a tree city made from rescued trash. Anything that floats by is snagged and incorporated. The city sprawls from tree to tree across a huge mangrove forest, covering miles of ground above the marsh. Some walkways won't hold weight. Others require dizzying feats of strength and bravery to even use. Houses consist of scraps of board, rope, metal, leather, cloth, and all other kinds of things. The Clamber's less acceptant of random fenfolk. Outsiders definitely aren't allowed and local drifters or troublemakers are moved along. Shadowfen Marsh Usually just called "the Fen." This is a massive marsh system to the southeast. In some places the ground is sturdy enough to build on, if a little soggy; in others it's so spongy a body can sink in to the neck. Rivers course through it like capillaries, connecting and splitting in millions of places. Trees are everywhere. King's Rise King's Rise is a high, dry region in the northeast. As you travel north from the Shadowfen, the ground begins to rise up and dry out. Marshes give way to dense green grass, flowers, and shrubby trees. A mountain stands tall to the northwest. Its top is flat, as if it erupted long ago. Plains The Plains are mostly agricultural. Farmers till their fields from dawn til dusk. A few houses dot the landscape, mostly the farmers', growing denser the closer they get to the mountain. Water is plentiful here, but the ground is rocky and sandy and very poor for growing crops. Often they do not come through and residents must find other means of making money. Highton The higher up the mountain you go, the more houses there are. Eventually they start looking like a city. The locals call the city Highton. Most folks there make their living from shipping the grain produced on the Plains. They tend to be relatively-wealthier merchant types. The leader of King's Rise lives in Highton. Pandemonium A castle which appeared overnight in the Plains region of King's Rise. Click here for more info. Capital City The most crowded and lucrative area in the Southeast is called Capital City, partly as a joke (it's the capital of nowhere). All of the boroughs owe fealty to Capital City. Like most other regions in the Southeast, Capital City is a maze of foul, dirty, shreds-to-shelter shacks that barely hold together in a strong wind, let alone a snowstorm. Wealth is relative. Most of it goes back into survival. Of all the boroughs this one most closely resembles its Faerune counterpart. But the Boss of this city is a metal kitsune called the Silver Fox. Town Square A wide, cobbled, public square where townsfolk go to socialise. There are a few notable features. A river runs sludgily through the north side of the square, lapping up onto artificial banks, and there people go to wash their clothes and bathe. The center of the square holds a thick, scarred post laced with manacles. There is no chair or throne in the square. The Boss' headquarters is not accessible to the public. Blind Lady Inn A tavern with overnight rooms. Nobody local can afford a whole bottle of anything, so the Blind Lady specialises in tiny cups for low rates. There is no minimum drinking age in the Slums, but the owner has been known to chase out children with a broom. Tiree Tiree is also known as the "workhouse district." Toward the south, massive workhouses begin appearing amidst the shacks. This is a rough district. Most people go to work here out of desperation, not desire, and idle, angry young folk sit in silence outside of buildings waiting for any chance to fight. The workhouses produce basic fabrics, metals, and manufactured goods to distribute to the rest of the world. There is a foundry to the far end. Its smoke fills the city with a low, ever-present smog. Dyret Lang What, you actually believe in that?Category:Places